


How to Make Friends and Forget You Abandoned Your Son (Again)

by DisneyFemslash



Category: Aladdin (1992), Disney - All Media Types, Lilo & Stitch (2002), disney crossover - Fandom
Genre: Bad Parenting, Child Abandonment, Eventual Romance, M/M, Second Chances, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:14:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27351805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DisneyFemslash/pseuds/DisneyFemslash
Summary: Cassim was a man with a lot of new in his life.A new home, in a new country.A new set of neighbors, a new set of marks.And maybe a new chance at love.
Relationships: Cassim/Cobra Bubbles





	How to Make Friends and Forget You Abandoned Your Son (Again)

A Change in Scenery

Agrahbah was, some said, like a land out of another time; Magic ran through the city-state like water- unlike anywhere else on Earth. When he was a young man, even as a middle aged man, Cassim had never thought he would leave the country. Surely no other place could compare. Until he found Aladdin again.

It seemed that after Cassim had slipped out of Aladdin’s wedding and into the night he could not find a day or a place where he didn’t hear of a heroic feat that the husband of the princess had performed. Where once he could push down the memory of his lost (no longer lost) family now he found he could not travel to a single village or town and not be reminded, not a single city where he couldn’t hear his son’s name. Aladdin echoed through the streets, alleys, and dunes, Cassim could not ride fast enough, or to hide well enough to escape it.

The third year after he’d ridden off and abandoned the boy again an old man mistook him for his son. That was the last straw.

“You can’t give up on being a thief, that’s the whole reason I was following you around.” Iago whined, voice even more grating than usual.

“Quiet bird, I will still have to make a living after I leave here.”

“It won’t be the same!”

Cassim rolled his eyes and pulled the keffiyeh from his head, the hottest part of the day long past, and caught Iago in it. He smirked at the indignant squawk.

“If you don’t like the idea you are free to fly wherever you like.” He said, opening the scarf to stare down at Iago. 

“I can even go put you back in the palace if you want.” He offered, just a little softer. Iago puffed up his feathers and flapped and fought his way back to sitting on Cassim’s shoulder. 

“I thought so.” Cassim said.

As night began to fall Cassim made his way to somewhere he hadn’t been in years. As long as it had been the sight of the cliffs rising by the sea seemed exactly as he remembered. He stopped his horse and stared. The crash of the waves and the last dying light of the sun cast a familiar feeling over all of this; The memory of hundreds of times he had led back his thieves at just this time of day, loaded with high spirits and stolen treasure. He waited, and watched the stone until the last of the sun sank away, leaving him in the silver light of the moon.

Iago stretched his wings and one just so happened to hit Cassim in the head. He turned to glare at Iago, who chirped and whisted, innocently. Cassim cleared his throat and sat up, holding his hands out to the mountain.

“Open sesame.” He said, as he had said time and time again. And the mountain opened, just as it always had, with the sound of rock scraping rock.

The inside of the mountain was darker than he remembered. No torches or fires burned, waiting to welcome back the men who lived there, who had lived there. He lit his own torch. Cassim didn’t know if it was the remainder of the thieves or the guards who had ransacked the lair, but it had been ransacked. Tapestries and carpets were dusty and torn, brazier and torches were toppled, and furniture broken and thrown around. The lair once had held a certain sort of rough grandeur, was reduced to a mess.

A seemingly empty mess.

“What are we doing here? I mean we’ve been in some dumps, but this is a dump.” Iago said, taking off around the area.

Cassim didn’t answer as he crossed the room, and the next; the way through the twisting corridors and maze-like layout was still ingrained in him. He didn’t need to stop, think, or put in any effort to remember where he was going. His quarters. They were just as destroyed as the rest of the lair. 

He set the torch in a sconce. The ceiling was high up here, almost totally dark, the light from the torch not bright enough to reach. He rubbed his hands together, choosing a spot where the natural rock walls were jagged and rough. He climbed. Iago made a noise and flew up after him.

“Okay I’ll bite. What are you doing?” 

“Climbing.”

“I don’t know why I bother.” Iago muttered.

Up, in the darkness near the ceiling there was a recess. Cassim pulled himself up and onto the ledge, crouched and carefully balanced. He reached into the little alcove and pulled out a purse, and another, four in all.

“Oh what is this?” Iago asked.

“I never did put everything I had in banks.” Casssim said. He squirreled the purses into his larger bag. 

“No, you just hid them in a hole in the wall. That can’t be more than you’ve been getting. I mean the Chalice of Malice? That was a haul, I never thought someone would pay that much for a cup. Or the rubies? Those were the biggest rubies I have ever seen. You have to have more than that, why wait until now?” Iago asked, watching Cassim as he climbed back down the wall.

Cassim paused, still on the wall.

“I- do you miss before?”

“What?”

“Do you miss how it was before you left with me?”

“Do I miss being dragged on dangerous adventures with a bunch of do-gooders who wouldn’t even get paid for it?” Iago asked, incredulously.

“Do I miss risking my tail while having to listen to Genie go off on a tangent in a stupid voice? Or the monkey laughing at me? Or the princess and your son making googly eyes at each other? Do I miss it?” Iago asked again, flapping his wings and perching on an upturned chair.

“Me, miss that.” He rolled his eyes as he preened his feathers.

“I thought so. I miss them, the rest of the thieves. I even miss Sa’Luk sometimes. That man hated me but until the Hand of Midas he didn’t do more than complain. Sometimes I even think he might have said I wasn’t so bad.” Cassim jumped the rest of the way down the wall. He placed a hand on the rough stone wall and sighed.

“Even if I could be sure none of them were here, which I couldn’t. Men escape from jail all the time. Even if I could do that, this place has a lot of memories.” 

“What’s that got to do with it?” Iago asked.

Cassim sighed and shook his head at the parrot. He stood there gazing around the ruins of his bedroom, silently. Iago gave him a long moment before he coughed and fluttered his wings loudly. Cassim shook his head.

“It doesn’t matter why now, but it’s mine and we’ll need all of it, bird.”

He turned on his heel and walked out of his room, cloak billowing behind him, Iago took off and flew after him.

As he retraced his steps, back to the entrance he went slowly, taking in the sight of what had been his home for over a decade. He could almost feel the weight of all the hands that had clapped his back, or the arms that had been thrown around his shoulders, almost hear the old conversations that had been shared. He stopped before the entrance, looking around the great, dark room; he was quiet, lost in thought again.

This time, after a much shorter moment Iago landed on his shoulder and drove his claws in harder than usual. Cassim almost jumped. He squared his shoulders and said

“Open sesame.” The wall opened up before him and he stood in the doorway, looking out at the open night. He took his torch and dropped in, in the twisted remains of the furniture and carpets. It took longer than he would have liked for it to catch. When it finally did he left, Iago looked behind them, watching the start of the fire, until the cliff closed and they were alone by the shore.

“Now what?” Iago asked.

“Now, we head to the nearest city. Exchange what I have for cash, sell the gelding, we can’t take him with us, transfer my money to a different bank, and get the hell out of here.”

“Simple, easy to remember. I’m sure we won’t miss the horse.”

The nearest city was Kikrit, middling in population and prestige, though that was slowly changing. In the years since the forty thieve has been unceremoniously ended there had been a noticeable uptick in wealthy people staying in the city, instead of moving out, or avoiding it entirely.

Cassim glared at a particularly slow car, shiny, expensive, and ill-suited to the old, narrow roads of the city. He was walking, mixed in with the crowd, on his way to the cheap room he was renting. Iago clung to his shoulder.

“I feel like they forgot why it was so dangerous to be flashy in this city.” He mutters, out the corner of his mouth. Iago looked at the car.

“Well we have time.”

“Not enough, I’d never get that sold before we left.”

“Who said anything about selling it?”

“We’re trying not to draw attention to ourselves before we leave.”

“Where are we going?”

“America, I set up a few things years ago, before I went looking back for Aladdin and Firyal. I thought I could send them and if I got into trouble. Warlords have disappeared into America, it couldn’t be so hard for a thief.” Cassim said.

“I dunno about that, people actually care about money.” Iago said. Cassim didn’t quite chuckle, but he snorted and grinned.

“There’s no way anyone there could manage to catch me.”

* * *

In Kaua’i Cassim exited the taxi that brought him to his new home. A single bag and a single birdcage are all that he brought with him.

“That took forever.” The irritated, and irritating voice hissed out, slightly muffled by the blanket over the birdcage.

“I can’t believe you were actually quiet the whole time.”

“Ha ha. Maybe next time you should travel in the dark little box and see how you like it.” 

“I left you with the headphone didn’t I?”

“Oh yeah while you got the earplugs, and to sleep.”

Cassim chuckled under his breath, and pulled the blanket off the cage. Iago blinked and took in the new surroundings.

“Not too shabby!”

“It’s a condo, we don’t get all of it.”

“Well, that’s less impressive.”

“Only so many choices here.”

“I still think that- “

“That we should have stayed, yes. I told you I would have taken you back to Agrabah if you wanted to stay so badly.”

Iago huffed, his feathers puffing up as an answer. Cassim balanced the cage holding the parrot on the bag and pulled both inside. The entrance was cool, tastefully decorated, and occupied by one woman. She was smartly dressed, holding a folder full of paperwork and waiting. As Cassim walked in she offered her hand and shook his firmly. 

“Nice to finally meet you in person.” She said.

“Likewise.”

“Now, Mr.-”

“Just Cassim is fine.”

“Cassim, if you follow me I can show you around your new home!” She said brightly, yet still clipped and business-like. 

“Thank you Ms. Higa.”

“Just Piper is fine.”

“Piper.”

She led the way, pointing out the exquisite views, and the exit to the communal outdoor area. Through the glass doors he could see tables and chairs set up under large sun parasols. He hummed and nodded politely as she went over the details of the closing again as they went up the stairs to the second level. 

She led him to the condo on the end, no one above him, and no one on one of the two outer walls, as isolated as you could get in a condo. Piper unlocked the door and opened it for Cassim. He nodded and muttered a 

“Thank you.” As he walked in. He pushed his bag into the corner and picked up Iago’s cage, settling it on the gray coffee table. The entire room was gray, really, dark gray carpets, light gray walls, the furniture all in neutral grays, with the only color being the green accent pillows. It might as well have been a catalogue.

“Now you’ve already seen the pictures but I can show you around, now that you’re here.” Piper said.

“Thank you, but I think I’ll be fine on my own. The pictures and floor plan were more than enough. And we did finish this online, already.” He said, diplomatically. Piper smiled, a wide, practiced smile and shook Cassims hand one more time.

“Welcome to Hawaii, I hope you'll like it here.” She said. Cassim nodded and led her out the door. 

As soon as it closed he sighed. The birdcage rattled and shook, Iago pecked at the door with a clanging. He rolled his eyes as he opened the door. Iago immediately flew out and landed on Cassims shoulder.

“Nice place. Very modern.” Iago said, tone of voice at odds with what he said.

“I know what you think, bird. You made your thoughts clear before we ever got here. You’ll have to get used to it.” 

Iago grumbled.

“What do you say to seeing the sights around here, what the place has to offer.”

“Oh taking stock of the marks.”

“I never said that.” Cassim said, with a sly smile on his face. He scratched the top of Iagos head. “We can just enjoy the sights, we just arrived. We’ll see the sights here, and then check on the sights in Oahu, or Maui some other day. Or I will, I don’t know if it would be worth the hassle to bring a bird along.” His smile grew just a little wider at Iagos offended gasp. He put up a hand to block the indignant pecking at his ears.

“Now be reasonable. It was a hassle to get you here in the first place. As nice as having a set of eyes in the sky is, it might not be practical.”

“Since when is practical something you care about?”

“We’ll see. As adept as I am smuggling you two ways every trip seems like a waste.” He ignored the disgruntled grumbling, grabbed his new keys, his new wallet, and his new phone. “We might not even need to hop islands for our business, let’s see what this one offers first.” 

Iago grumbled on the way out, holding onto Cassims shoulder just slightly tighter than he needed to as he opened, closed, and locked his new door.

**Author's Note:**

> Truly the nichest of ships.
> 
> Also I realize the irony of me, DisneyFemslash, posting slash for my first work but look. This is my most adored nichest pairing.


End file.
